John Calvin Commentary 2 Corinthians 2:4

"For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be made sorry, but that ye might know the love that I have more abundantly unto you." — 2 Corinthians 2:4 (ASV)

For out of much affliction here he presents another reason in order to soften the harshness he had employed. For those who smilingly take delight in seeing others weep, since by this they reveal their cruelty, cannot and should not be tolerated. Paul, however, declares that his feeling was very different. “Intensity of grief,” he says, “has extorted from me everything that I have written.”

Who would not excuse, and receive favorably, what springs from such a state of mind, especially as it was not on his own account or through his own fault that he suffered grief? Furthermore, he does not express his grief in order to relieve himself by burdening them, but rather for the purpose of showing his affection for them. For these reasons, it was not fitting for the Corinthians to be offended at this somewhat severe reproof.

He adds tears—which, in a brave and magnanimous man, are a sign of intense grief. Hence we see from what emotions of mind pious and holy admonitions and reproofs must necessarily proceed. For there are many noisy reprovers who, by declaiming, or rather, fulminating against vices, display a surprising ardor of zeal, while meanwhile their minds are at ease, so that it might seem as if they exercised their throat and lungs merely for sport.

It is, however, the mark of a pious pastor to weep within himself before he calls upon others to weep, to feel tortured in silent musings before he shows any sign of displeasure, and to keep within his own heart more grief than he causes to others. We must also take notice of Paul’s tears, which, by their abundance, show tenderness of heart, but it is of a more heroic character than the iron-hearted hardness of the Stoics. For the more tender the affections of love are, they are all the more praiseworthy.

The adverb more abundantly may be explained in a comparative sense; in that case, it would be a tacit complaint that the Corinthians do not make an equal return regarding affection, since they love only coldly one who ardently loves them. I take it, however, in a simpler way, as meaning that Paul commends his affection towards them, so that this assurance may soften any harshness that might be in his words.